Choice
by Shaded Destiny
Summary: Every single choice in life leads to an outcome, and every outcome leads to more choices. A good intentioned choice or action can lead to not so good outcomes, and bad intentioned choices or actions might not lead to bad outcomes. Every choice shapes what life is at the moment, and even small, inconsequential choices can change the world. One-shot.
1. Hiccup

All it took was a slight mishap, a different course of action taken during a crucial moment, and his current view of the world around him would come crashing down upon himself. He looked back on when he first met Toothless. He had thought, just like everyone else, that it was a terrible demon in front of him that had to be killed to help the village and his self-esteem. What are the chances that he could have helped the terrifying beast instead, cutting the dragon free and putting himself in danger. He knew it was a one in a million shot at living, but he did it anyway because he couldn't kill what he saw in himself. He wondered what might have happened if he killed his best friend at that moment. He would have brought the heart back to his father, finally gaining the respect of the village, but would it be enough for him? He would become braver, building more sophisticated inventions and now with the entire village at his back, he might finally succeed at becoming an asset to the village. But now, as he thought about the different outcome, did he realize it would have led to a much different fate. The Queen Dragon would not have been discovered, and when an expedition finally made it to the nest, it would be an all out massacre. It was only with the help of the dragons did the villagers of Berk succeed at destroying the evil that manifested the area.

He thought about when Astrid had discovered the truth between him and Toothless. What would have happened if he had not been able to catch up with her? Would she have actually told his father about it and have him banish his own son from the village? Would his father just brush it off as the jealousy of being beaten by a weakling of a Viking?

Every single moment in his life had led him to this point. Every action he had taken, every order given, led him to where he was today. He wondered if he had made the right choices to bring himself here. He had done regretful tasks in the past, and not a day went by did he not think about it.

Digging through fate always boils down to a simple answer. Choice. Every choice is a big decider of what is to happen next in one's life. Hiccup knew this more than anyone. If he had done one thing different in the turning point in his own life, he might be dead, an outcast, or a great leader. He recalled his favorite moments, like his first real flight with his best friend, or when he was married to the girl of his dreams. These choices are the ones that he never regretted making. By restoring Toothless' flight, it gave him a great friend and protector, and being with Astrid gave him the happiness he needed.

One choice. One simple mistake or wrong move would have brought him somewhere else. The outcome is never known. A good choice can lead to not so good outcomes, and bad choices can end up good. Fate is a fog so dense that no one can see through it. It has endless pathways, all ending up at different locations.

Hiccup watched the boat sail away from the shores of Berk, mesmerized by the flames that lit up the starless night. He recalled the moments in life he made bad choices. He saw his father walking away from him, shutting a door and sending him into darkness. His own father had claimed that he had no son. He knew that it was his own fault for getting himself in this mess. He should have at least told his father before they had captured his only friend. He had sent himself into that predicament, but it had eventually led to good. He smiled, remembering the feeling of seeing all the dragons flying around Berk, now accepted into everyday life.

Now, with tears in his eyes, he watched the boat sail farther away into the darkness, burning lower and lower. He had seen his own friends die. The first was his father, dying out at open sea during a ferocious storm while on his way to negotiate with another tribe. Hiccup then, as tradition, took up his father's position as chief of the tribe. After many years, which he had Odin to thank for, did his next friend die. Snotlout, then his second in command, had been killed by disease.

Hiccup's smile disappeared as the boat started to break apart from the fire that plagued its hull. The rest of his friends were still living, working and fighting just as hard as they had done when they were younger. The next and most heart-wrenching was Astrid. She had died gloriously in battle when enemies plagued the island yet again. She had been old, yes, but she still fought with the strength well beyond her years.

He still thought about how this had all come to be. A choice here and a choice there led to whatever happened. He knew that if he had acted differently, his father might have lived much longer, as well as Snotlout. He wondered if he could have saved Astrid with a different choice.

Now, his life was completely empty. His closest and most dearest friend was sailing away from him, slowly disappearing beneath the waves. He remembered sitting next to Toothless during the night, at ease with his friend protecting him. He remembered the gloriousness of flight. He remembered the battles they shared together. Most of all, he remembered the choices he made that made it so. If he had really killed him when he found him, what would the outcome have been?

Hiccup watched as the remnants of the flames died in the water. His friend was now put to rest, peaceful and content with the full life he lived. Toothless was the only dragon Hiccup knew that had died from age instead of battle or disease. Hiccup smiled again, tears running freely down his face. He was old now, well beyond in years. He had passed the leadership from himself to his only son. In all these years, Hiccup had never thought about how he had gotten to this point in life. He now knew that his life was all because of one word. Choice. He hoped that he and his friends had made the right ones.

A/N- Well, this is something I had stored in my head for quite some time. I hope it was good, and please, I would like your thoughts and comments on if you liked it or not. One more thing, I would actually like to write more one-shots. It would make me happy if you gave me an idea, big or small.

Peace out,

Lark.


	2. Toothless

Disclaimer: Nope, never will own HTTYD.

Choice. It's what gives and is what free will is comprised of. Without choice, one is no more off than a slave to someone of something else. The dragons know this better than any human ever could. They had their ability to choose whatever they wanted to do stripped away generations ago by their late Queen. It was always get food for the Queen or die, work for the Queen or die. There was never any free will. Death was the only other choice than be a personal slave to the Queen.

Toothless spent countless nights with Hiccup thinking about his past life. He knew that if something went differently along that time, he might not be with someone he truly loved like a sibling, despite their differences in species. The Queen had forced him into submission the moment he was born, pushing him to kill the humans, defend the other dragons, and help bring back food. He had fought back, though. He didn't bring back food for the Queen, and that angered the Queen, but she didn't kill him for one reason. He was a valuable asset in the raids, so she still forced him to fight, but not to steal food. Toothless had won the first victory of many against the corrupt Queen of the nest.

Toothless looked at Hiccup's small form in the bed. He saw Hiccup's chest rise and fall with each breath, sleeping peacefully. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was at a good point in his life. He had, along with Hiccup, brought peace to the humans and dragons, allowing them to live in harmony, although it wasn't perfect. He knew that after Hiccup had shot him and down and stole his tailfin and flight from him, he had nearly killed him. Toothless had seen Hiccup raise the dagger, but he never felt the dagger go through his body. All he had felt was the ropes around his body snap and give way. He had pounced on the boy and was about to kill him, but he then saw what he had just felt. Pure fear. It was his choice to let the boy go, and it was his choice that eventually destroyed the Queen.

Toothless looked outside Hiccup's window. The sun was beginning to rise, starting a new day. He knew Hiccup would wake up soon, partially because it would be because of him pounding on the roof to wake Hiccup up. He looked back at his tail, partially sad because it was only half real. The other half now contained an artificial tailfin, but it also made him happy. He remembered the gloriousness of shooting through the air again, this time with someone else. Now that Hiccup had restored his flight, he didn't want to fly without him. Even though Hiccup had made him a tailfin that allowed him to fly alone, he didn't want it anymore. He wanted to share it with his best friend. He remembered the shock on Hiccup's face after that incident.

Winter had set in, and all the humans had just finished celebrating some odd ritual of some sort. All he wanted to do was go flying with Hiccup again, and without his stupid tailfin that allowed him to fly on his own. He had Hiccup come out, but he wouldn't allow him on his back until he saw what he wanted him to see. He raised his tail and pounded it into the frozen ground relentlessly. He didn't stop until the tailfin flew into the air, completely trashed. He inwardly laughed as Hiccup realized what this meant. It was a good choice that bonded them all the closer.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon at this point, and Toothless had waited long enough. He quietly jumped out the window and onto the house and started banging on the roof. He could hear moans from underneath him, telling him to be quiet and let him sleep, but that wasn't going to happen. He pounded again and again until he heard the defeated sigh of Hiccup. He then jumped down and waited for his friend.

Toothless knew that it was only by his choices and Hiccup's choices that led them to this point. Everything could have been different if he had killed Hiccup, or if they had died in the Queen's rage at them attacking her. Choice for everyone is a delicate thing. It changes everyone around them, whether or not for the good or bad, but in this case, it was good. Only by their actions did the humans come to understanding that it wasn't the dragon's that were the problem, but the Queen herself. Toothless brought himself back to when he got captured to lead the humans to the nest.

He had heard Hiccup's scream from far away, and he had to save him. He had blindly rushed into the cage that Hiccup was in, but he had at least saved him from the dragon that assaulted him. Afterwards, he had nearly killed Hiccup's father, but Hiccup had stopped him. In the end, he was captured, and he braced himself for death, but instead, he led the humans to the nest. The choice itself was a bad one, but it led to good. It had nearly cost him his life, Hiccup's life, and possibly all the human's lives as well, but it didn't. By the gods, it had led to good, and it had led everyone to a better life, or so he hoped.

No one can deny that it's actions and choices that lead one to their end, but the dragons, humans, and even the Queen knew and know that nothing is for sure in life, not even outcomes clear as day. Toothless saw Hiccup come around his house and walk onto the ice with his metal foot again. He dove forward to catch him again. He inwardly sighed. Some choices are just too stupid to remember.

A/N: Well, not sure what to say here. Just that I have WhisperArtemisMoon and Drago829 to thank for this little chapter one-shot. They unknowingly got me off my butt to work on this chapter, but they still did it, so, thanks. That's it, hope you liked it.

Peace out,

Lark.


	3. Stoic the Vast

Stoic the Vast

Stoic gently pushed open his front door, so as not to wake Hiccup upstairs. It was well into the night, ever so calm and peaceful. He walked over to a chair and grabbed a cup filled with mead, slowly seating himself down and relaxing after a long day. To Stoic, this was normal, being a great and powerful chief of the tribe, but sometimes, he just couldn't help but reflect back on when life was different, before dragons were friends with the Vikings. Life may have been harder, but as he pondered the past, it was, in a way, much simpler than it was now.

His choices back then became who he is now, a chieftain of lore.

Stoic the Vast.

A man who was believed to have torn a dragon's head from its shoulders with his bare hands. Stoic chuckled to himself. People would believe most things if given the incentive. He took a long swig of his mead, delving deeper into his memories. He didn't have much of a choice taking the role of chief after his father died, due to tradition, and neither did he refuse the opportunity. He felt ready to lead his tribe to glory, to the end of the dragon raids. Much to his shock, not even he could find the dragon nest with all his searches. It was only until recently did he believe that brawn didn't always mean success.

It was his son. The one they called useless, a fishbone, that ended up stopping the dragon raids. His son. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.

Stoic looked deeply into his cup of mead, as if to search for answers to his problems, answers to why it all happened. It hit him a moment later, knocking upon his head like an anvil. It was his choices in life, and all the others around him as well. He had never truly listened to his son before.

He brushed off his son like a piece of debris, not believing he had shot down a dragon no one had ever seen before. He ignored him, and had lost his son in a way. He had never chosen to once believe him that he had done what no one else had done before. He had felt justified back then to ignore his son because of all the other incidents that he claimed to have done it. All it led to was more disappointment, and more angry villagers at his son.

He set his mug down on a table and stared at a wall, still sorting through his mistakes. Maybe he should have paid more attention to his son, actually being a parental figure than a stern chief. He saw his relationship crumbling with his son over the years. He had not listened to his son when he didn't want to go into training. He expected too much of his son. However, what amazed him the most was that he got much more than he expected.

His son, not even the chief of the village, had finally become something other than the village screw-up. His son had become a hero. His son had figured out on his own that the dragons were not mindless beasts, but friends. His son learned that it wasn't the dragons that were the problem, but the queen. His son nearly sacrificed his life to save the village, and save it he did. He saved the village even after they shoved him away, thrown him out.

He had saved him. His own father, even after he disowned him.

Stoic remembered the incident clear as day.

_"You're not a Viking…You're not my son…"_

Stoic hated that memory as much as he had once hated dragons. If only he had listened to his son, listened to what he truly had to say that was not a lie in the slightest. A choice that haunted him to this very moment. He left his son broken and lost, alone on the village while he took his only friend, a dragon, away to its death.

Stoic thought about why he hadn't helped Hiccup in the past. Why didn't he be more of a father to him, instead of ignore him? He had been such a bad parent that Hiccup had chosen a dragon over his father.

Now, Stoic hoped that his bad choices had ended. He hoped that his way of life had been born a new. Most of all, he wanted the relationship with his son to be mended and repaired from its broken state. He wanted to believe in his son, help his son along the way, help him integrate the dragons into Berk's community. Most of all, he wanted to make the choice of listening to his son. He wanted to never again ignore his pleas.

Stoic shook his head, clearing away the sad thoughts. If only his wife were here now, watching over how proud their son had made their family name. He knew that Hiccup would one day have to stand up to take the role of chief. He would be ready. He had been ready ever since he decided to take the dragon matter into his own hands and become The Dragon Trainer. Stoic smiled and got up from his chair, moving himself towards his bed to ready himself for another day of his chiefly duties.

Stoic knew that while he had not made the best of choices while commanding his tribe and leading his tribe, his son would be much different. His son may not be a strong and immense chief, but his son was intelligent. Intelligent enough to change the minds of his people. Intelligent enough to go to down as one of the greatest chiefs Berk has ever had.

**A/N**

**Yeah, I've pretty much been dead for the past half a year. I lost all the will to write anything after school started, and it made me sad that I wasn't writing anymore, so I decided to do this. Anyways, I'm still looking for more ideas of future one-shots, so please PM me if you have any ideas, and don't forget to leave a review, 'cause I love 'em as much as I love you my dear readers. So…**

**Peace out,**

**Lark.**


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